ABSTRACT
One of the most jarring disclosures in Chile’s official torture report was the extent to which sexualized violence was systematically exercised by the Pinochet regime to elicit a confession, to punish, and to ultimately eliminate leftist political opposition. This chapter juxtaposes the documentaries of Chilean filmmakers Patricio Guzman and Marcela Said to shed light on the gendered dimensions of state violence in relation to the discourses and institutions that create and sustain torture as a form of social control. By examining The Pinochet Case and I Love Pinochet, it exposes the links between militarism, masculinity, and torture, as well as the relationship between resistance and film. Both documentaries give rise to a deeper reflection that expands the fundamental premise that state violence is gendered. They demonstrate how sexualized violence has been at the core of patriarchal and militaristic culture in which masculinity is defined in terms of dominance and aggression.
